As I was working on my book about my nomadic hippie childhood, I unearthed a travel journal that covered two trips to ...

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Hurricanes are not tropical adventures where people in pith helmets sit in a fern decorated tropical bar while ceiling fans slowly revolve. “I say old sod, another gin & tonic, and you’d better mop by the door. Now as I was saying about the issue with the porters and the taboo…”

The bar would be pitch black, the power cut hours before. The door would be padlocked. Clive the explorer would be in a similarly dark hotel room, wondering where he was going to sleep. You see, now the mattress has taken on eleven gallons of water, and it’s hard to avoid slashing curtains of water that tear through the broken window. Candles? You must be joking. In this wind, you couldn’t keep a candle lit with an oxy-acetylene torch.

It’s 95F, and sweat mixes with sopping rain water. Humidity is 100%. A big issue is the toilet. Flush it and that’s all she wrote. The tank will be emptied. Blasts of wind slam against the walls, Volleys of rain sound like buckshot. There is a loud, tearing crashing sound that approaches on the street then tumbles by. You have no idea what it is. You probably never will know.

Back To This Reality…

Walls are flexing. Distant sounds of hammers pounding–last minute reinforcement or is it repairs? Maxed out on containers of drinking water, 12-1/2 gallons. The tinaca is full–good for semi normal consumption of utility water. CFE is going to cut power soon. They do it to protect generator equipment and sub station transformers. When that goes, so does water pressure–bucket brigade for ordinary water like dishwashing. Tinaca water for toilet.

Have to hurry. The walls are being slammed. The power can go at any time.

Wind now about 100 mph. Car outside rocking badly. Power near to being chopped. Must rush this.

I wish this was a forties movie. I could use a gin & tonic just about now…

Does anyone know how the neighborhood of La Playa located around the new Marina has come through the storm? What are the conditions like around there after the storm? What can someone stateside do to help?